Monthly Archives: January 2015

Hard to believe that it’s been two months since my last post. November and December were packed with travel, holidays and family. After four solid weeks of house guests and entertaining, hubby and I escaped to the west coast for a golfing holiday. Palm Springs was the starting point as we worked our way north along the Pacific coast highway.

Pebble Beach was spectacular but neither of our golf games warrant the fees there so we satisfied ourselves with pics from the 18th green.

We did play several spectacular courses along the way, including two which had hosted PGA tournaments. Sand everywhere!
Last year I joined Goodbye Valentino’s Ready-to-Wear Fast and did so again for this year so that meant no buying clothes for the trip. I needed warm, lightweight and breathable golf tops. I had a stash of merino wool knit fabrics; perfect and had the added bonus of being washable.

The pattern is my knit top block from Suzy Furrer’s Craftsy course.

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My obsession with sleeve fitting resulted in this draft, taken mostly from European Cut by Elizabeth Allemong.

Notice the shape of the sleeve cap and the position of the shoulder.
How to add couture touches to a simple zip top: match stripes at the side and armseye seams.
add a zipper guard which covers the zipper teeth at the neck
add a mock turtleneck
Serged seams were too bulky and anti-couture. I did serge the cut edges with Gutermann Skala 360, a super super fine thread which adds no bulk. My serger was set for a narrow three thread stitch. Seams were sewn ina regular sewing machine using a zig-zag stitch about 0.3 mm wide and 2.3 mm long. This very slight zig-zag adds stretchability to the seam. Press open. The sleeve and bottom hems were serged along the cut edges and hand hemmed.
For chilly California evenings, I was intrigued by the wrap designed by Julie of Jet Set Sewing. Look for the December 29 post. I had some off white sheer wool knit and made two versions of her design.

One short one:

And a longer version with an asymmetrical hem. The hem idea came from one of the sweaters Julie photographed in a Paris window.
Side view:
Very simple pattern. I made mine 16 inches wide at the neck and 25 inches wide at the bottom. Cut two layers, one front and one back. The short version is 19 inches long, the long version 29 inches before hem shaping.
Sew the side seams using a narrow zig-zag stitch. I used 5/8 inch seams, pressed open, turned under edges and slipstitched for a totally finished seam on the wrong side.
The knit rolled naturally to the right side along the top and bottom edges. Stretch the knit gently and it will roll. I tacked in place lightly.
Shaping the hem for the longer version. Fold in half with the side seams together. The center front and back will be at the fold lines. I pinned a length of narrow elastic as a guide before cutting. Be sure to flatten out the curve at the center front and back unless you want points.
Enjoy. I’m happy to be back.